A Minneapolis father whose 4-year-old son killed his 2-year-old brother with an unsecured firearm won a reprieve from a judge Thursday.

As Kao Chongsua Xiong and his family members wept tears of grief and joy, Hennepin County District Judge Daniel Moreno sentenced him to 10 years' probation. One condition: that he spend 100 hours telling others in the Hmong community about gun safety.

"You're in a position to explain to them what can happen when you're not vigilant," Moreno said.

The sentence recommended by state guidelines for Kao Xiong's manslaughter convictions is four years in prison.

When it was his turn to speak in court, Kao Xiong stood straight in his orange jail jumpsuit.

"Your Honor, it's my fault," he said of the killing.

He apologized to the court, to his mother, his mother-in-law, his wife and his son, "who I loved so much."

As he spoke, his mother, sitting in courtroom's front row, wept and raised her clasped hands to the judge as if in supplication.

Kao Xiong left a loaded gun under a pillow where his 4-year-old son found it and killed his younger brother Dec. 5.

In May, a District Court jury in Minneapolis found Kao Xiong, 31, guilty on two felony counts of manslaughter and two misdemeanor counts of child endangerment.

Jurors found Kao Xiong's negligence led to his son's death, but they acquitted him of a third count of child endangerment.

To say Kao Xiong was relieved at the sentence would be an understatement, said his attorney, Steven Meshbesher.

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"He's extraordinarily ecstatic. He's extraordinarily happy," Meshbesher said. If he completes probation, the felony charges will be reduced to misdemeanors.

With Kao Xiong leaving jail Thursday, the family will focus on grieving the death of 2-year-old Neejnco Chongsua Xiong and caring for their newest child, a girl born this month, Meshbesher said.

Meshbesher sought the probationary sentence against the wishes of the prosecution, citing several "substantial and compelling" reasons why Kao Xiong should not get prison.

His age, lack of prior criminal history, attitude toward the court and strong support from his family all pointed to his amenability to probation, Meshbesher argued.

The judge said he was finally convinced that Kao Xiong understood the "gravity of danger in which you placed the children," and took responsibility.

"Unfortunately for you, it took a long, grueling, tragic trial for you to understand these things," Moreno said.

In addition to the 100 hours of community service in gun safety discussions with local Hmong, Kao Xiong must complete another 100 hours of service through the county community corrections department. He was also given 30 days in jail, which he has already served.

The day Neejnco Xiong died, Kao Xiong came home to eat lunch. While he and his wife, Ma Vang, were downstairs, the couple's three children played upstairs.ã

Kao Xiong had placed a loaded semiautomatic handgun under the pillow of the couple's bed upstairs. The 4-year-old found it and pointed it at his brother. It went off. Prosecutors said the gun did not have a working safety.

The pistol was among eight firearms police found in the home; most were unsecured and in places where children could have easily found them. Kao Xiong, who told police he was an avid hunter, had three handguns, three bolt-action rifles and a .30-caliber semiautomatic rifle in the home.

His attorney said Thursday that Kao Xiong had a license to carry the guns and had taken a gun safety course.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said after sentencing that prosecutors accepted the result. The key factor, Freeman said: Kao Xiong accepted total responsibility.

As he spoke, Freeman's eyes welled with tears. "It would be fundamentally unfair for that 4-year-old to go through life thinking it was his responsibility, because it wasn't."